Daddy's Girl

BBQ and play time!

We've had another  lovely weekend, topped off by the news of the arrivals of two baby girls into the world!
Maria and Mats had their baby girl, Amanda on Saturday and yesterday we received the fantastic news that Anna & Cory welcomed their baby girl, Freya and Denali's sister, into the world! Apparently it was a speedy entry, so we look forward to hearing all the details soon!

On Saturday, we busied (sp?) ourselves with playing in the garden, baking and cooking. At 4pm we went to Ana & Mark's for a lovely BBQ! Not nearly enough time to enjoy eating outdoors this summer so we take every opportunity! Lots of food and merriment, as per usual. Thank you guys! We enjoyed meeting Ryan again and Vera had fun in Mark's hammock which he has in the garden


On Sunday, after some house work, Vera and I went to the Spotted Giraffe in Linton and had a fun afternoon with our NCT friends. Vera was unstoppable! So much energy and determination, in and out of the ball pool, crawling up the slide etc etc. We had fun playing hide and seek! Brilliant to see everyone again and all the babies - who arent really babies any more!

Tired girl fell asleep in the car on the way home. Out like a light.

Vera is 14 months old today and now weighs 12 kgs!

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Waiting for mummy outside nursery, Friday

Saturday BBQ - wonderful Pimms in the foreground :)

 Vera plaing with her new shopping basket

 Al fresco dining for Ryan (in Vera's old Bumbo seat!)

Farewell Terina

Yesterday was Vera's last day at Terina's as she will be starting full time in nursery from Monday. We've made the decision as it will work better for us, from a holiday coverage/consistency etc standpoint. But, it was really upsetting to leave Terina, we were both crying!

I had brought some cake on Wednesday for Vera's last day and Terina had had a little party with all Vera's friends. Vera also got a present, a little mini shopping basket with mini groceries, which was perfect! Vera is so happy sorting things and putting them in and out of the basket. I had bought Terina and her son Theo a little present too, to say thank you for everything.

I know I'm emotional, but Vera's had such a great time at Terina's since she was a little baby, so I am sad to leave, but I know that we have made the right decision.

Here's Terina and Vera just before we left (before the tears!)

In the evening I was out with some friends and colleages for dinner and drinks, enjoying the wonderful summer evening and the 30+ degrees temperatures!

Big Appetite!

Vera likes her food and she must be going through a growth spurt/rapid development at the moment, as she is eating loads!
Yesterday she had porridge, a cheese sandwich as mid morning snack, lasagne for lunch, meatballs & potatoes for tea, a bit of sweetcorn when Mark and I had our dinner, followed by a bottle before she went to bed.

Some more pool photos. Happy girl!

Summer!

With a forecast of sun & 27 degrees, Mark decided to stay at home with Vera today, so the two of them are having a bit of a mini holiday!

Here's Vera enjoying her new pool for the first time this year!

Visiting Cathy

Yesterday we went up to see Cathy, who lives in Sandiacre, near Nottingham. It's 100 miles (16 mil) from here and took around 2 hours to drive. The schools broke up on Friday so traffic was quite busy. Cathy lives in a really cool apartment block, an old lace mill that's been converted to apartments:
http://www.springfield-mill.co.uk/
We had some luch and then went for a walk along the river. We went for a couple of drinks in the beer garden of a local pub, which was lovely as summer has finally arrived! Vera was exploring the surroundings and befriended a friendly dog.

Today we went to Calke Abbey http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey/, which is a cool old stately home, which was home to an eccentric family of collectors so is full of stuff. The house was left to ruin, so certain rooms are shown in the decline that they were left.
We had some lovely fika (coffee & scones) in the cafe outside the old stables, followed by a walk around the gardens, which included  a walled garden full of palm trees. Then we visited the house and Vera was ever so good, despite having to be carried around the whole house when I bet she wanted nothing more than to touch everything in there! Vera's favourite room was a room full of stuffed birds, she yelled with excitement and used her latest exclamation "wow"!

Cool place & a lovely day in the sun!

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 By the canal

 Quality time in the pub

 Calke Abbey

 Around the gardens

 Checking out the hay! relaxing after visiting the house

Quality Time

Vera's had a good week, she's been to a new play barn with Terina and the boys
http://www.whaleofatime-cambridge.co.uk/
feasted on lots of nice summer fruit, strawberries, melons and nectarines and been generally active!

Today I took half a day off and picked up Vera just after lunch. She was so pleased to see me and speed crawled across the Piglets room with a big beam on her face. Wonderful feeling! Mark joined us too and we went for coffee in Great Shelford, for a bit of shopping and then for a walk. School was breaking up for summer today, so very busy around the village! Vera enjoyed the swings as per usual, but then wanted to drag herself/walk up the slide, walk around and generally explore the play ground! At home we had som cosy time (mys), reading books, tickling, giggling and enjoying each other's company!

Weekend Round up

I've been feeling a bit under the weather over the weekend, sore throat etc. I distinctly remember being poorly this weekend  last year too, although then the sun was out and it was nice and hot!

This weekend we've stayed around the house witha few outings. I've been playing with my new Kenwood toy, my birthday present from Mark. I've made rye bread, pizza dough and also a rhubarb crumble with our own rhubarb and a quiche. Plus some cooking too so from that stand point, quite productive!

Vera was kind to her old parents and slept in til 08:40 on Saturday morning!
She's been playing lots and babbling away. When we went shopping yesterday, she was yelling "Mamma", "Dada" around the shop. It's all about practice!

Vera was much more interested in the vinegary pizza sallad than in the nice home made pizza. And we know how much she looves pizza!

 Standing around with the phone. It's fun to play with - holding it up to your ear and  saying "e-lo"

 More pizza sallad

 My birthday present